


I come to you in pieces

by reddieforlove



Category: IT (2017), IT - Stephen King
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Language, M/M, Non-Consensual Drug Use, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Sexual Content, Soulmates, Supernatural Elements
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-08
Updated: 2018-09-08
Packaged: 2019-07-08 17:52:06
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,379
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15935363
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/reddieforlove/pseuds/reddieforlove
Summary: Eddie Kaspbrak works for a branch of the FBI that oversees supernatural creatures in a world where humans are aware of nonhumans. He is determined to redeem his very nature by helping people who can't otherwise help themselves. He never counts on meeting his soulmate in the back room of a blood trafficking den. All that he knows is that to keep a very human Richie Tozier safe, he has to stay far away, an idea that is easier in theory than in practice.





	I come to you in pieces

**Author's Note:**

> I don't know where I'm going with this. I'm just writing as I go. It's been something that's stuck with me for a few months. I don't think it'll be all that long. Five or six chapters at the most, I hope.
> 
> There will be "first person" chunks throughout the chapter but they're basically Eddie journaling his experiences. The rest of the story is written as usual.
> 
> Fic Title: Pieces by Red

_There was a time when the world was still in the dark about what hid in the shadows. A time when all we had to fear were the monsters we perceived as real. Diseases. Accidents. Natural Disasters. People. I was taught to fear all that and more. Maybe if I hadn’t been imprisoned by my mother’s fears, I wouldn’t have been so desperate to escape. I wouldn’t have run far and fast. Maybe I wouldn’t have died. Maybe I wouldn’t have changed. The world is different now. The shadows don’t hide us anymore. People are looking. They’re afraid._

_They should be._

*****

Eddie stepped through the door carefully, as if one hasty move would cause everything to fall apart. He’d been working hard to get here. Harder than anyone could imagine. It wasn’t easy, finding his way to the darkest, most hidden places of his kind. Yet here he was, stepping into the dimly lit space as the base of the music reverberated through his very bones. The very center of the floor was taken up by a mass of bodies passing off grinding as dancing, hands wandering and mouths searching.

He was careful to avoid it all. That wasn’t why he was here. He ducked through the crowd, hearing some conversation murmured beneath the music but paying none of it any mind. Words wouldn’t get him what he needed. He had to see to believe. To prove. Eddie found his way to the bar, his hands planting on the solid surface. The bartender blinked to attention as soon as he spotted Eddie, wandering over to ask what he wanted. Before Eddie could answer, a carefully manicured hand came down on his shoulder.

“I thought you wouldn’t come,” a sultry voice crooned in his ear.

Eddie ignored the cold shiver that curled down his spine, turning his head to watch as Greta Bowie slid onto the stool next to him gracefully, crossing one leg over the other as the blue and pink lights from the ceiling cast a glow over her already radiant skin. She lifted a slender hand, running it through her hair while she gave him a coy smile as if she didn’t know exactly why he was there. After all, she invited him. Eddie simply let one corner of his mouth lift slightly, knowing he wouldn’t be able to convincingly charm her if it came down to it.

“I almost didn’t,” he confessed.

A lie.

He was always going to come.

She didn’t have to know that.

“It’s okay,” she said, waving the bartender off. “You’re taking a risk here. We all are. But it’s… worth the reward.”

Her eyes flashed with suggestion as the song turned to a more sultry beat. Eddie glanced over the room, disgust unfurling in his chest that he kept carefully hidden from his face by feigning interest.

“Maybe I should just watch this time,” he said.

There was no need to fake the nerves in his voice. If he was caught, he’d be killed.

 _Worth the reward_.

Greta’s hand lifted, her cool fingers brushing over his jaw and tilting his head back towards her. Eddie fought the urge to shudder away. He hated being touched, especially by people he didn’t know. A residual fear left from days long past when he was conditioned to worry about germs and diseases and being dirty. Fears that were laughable in the shadow of what he faced now.

“No watching,” she said, shaking her head. “I’ve got something perfect in mind for you.”

Something.

She spoke like what she offered was no more than an object.

“Show me the way,” Eddie said as if he only just made up his mind, even as his stomach twisted.

Greta looked satisfied, sliding off of her stool as he did the same. As soon as their feet hit the ground, her hand clasped around his, soft yet unyielding. A reminder of how much danger Eddie was truly in if he didn’t do everything right.

“Maybe I’ll even join you,” she said, looking entirely too serious for Eddie’s taste.

“Oh,” he said, swallowing hard.

Eddie didn’t count on that.

It couldn’t happen.

There was nothing he could do if someone else was in the room.

But then Greta let out a laugh, tossing her head just slightly as her cornsilk hair spilled down her back, catching on the changing lights above them.

“I know,” she said, already leading him away from the bar. “I’m not your type.”

There was something beneath her voice, a hint of derision. Eddie knew that she looked at him with distaste when she thought he couldn’t see. They might have been the same in one singular way but in all others, they were nothing alike. She was cruel, that much he knew. Those manicured nails did far more harm than good. And no, she wasn’t his type. There was a time that Eddie had been afraid to admit it out loud. That time had long since passed. In a world full of danger, his sexuality was the least of his concerns.

Greta led him away from the crowd. Eddie wished she’d let go of him. He knew it was some kind of power play. Submitting for now to get what he wanted in the end was easy enough to do. The doorway they stepped through led to a dark hallway lit only by the occasional dim lamp on the wall. There were doors on either side, numbered by silver plates in the center. As they reached the end, Eddie saw that the hallway branched off into two more. He didn’t want to think about how many doors there were. If everything went as planned, it would end tonight.

“Here’s yours,” Greta said, releasing his hand as she placed the other on the doorknob. “Enjoy.”

Eddie watched her walk away, narrowing his eyes slightly as she brushed her hand along the wall, her fingertips brushing over the doors as if she was careless of the suffering beyond them. With a deep breath, Eddie twisted the knob and opened the door, stepping inside. The room was a parody of itself. The walls were a deep red and the carpets black as night. There were curtains hanging between him and the target of his attention. He could hear the short, choppy breaths and the thrum of a quickly beating heart.

He hesitated there, closing his eyes and inhaling deeply. The scent of fear was muted beneath poisonous suppressants that didn’t belong in a human body. Eddie moved forward slowly, letting the door fall closed behind him and pushing the curtains aside. There, sitting on a plush leather couch with heavy lidded eyes and too pale skin, was a man. He was tall, his long legs clad in ripped jeans and sprawled wide. His dark hair sprung out in unruly curls and the column of his neck was exposed as he leaned his head back against the couch.

Instinct swirled up deep in Eddie, making his throat burn and his gums itch. He stilled in place, letting his eyes fall closed as he breathed through the initial need and regained control over himself. When he looked again, the human’s head was tilted up and his eyes were slightly more aware, looking at Eddie almost curiously beneath the hazy state that the drugs kept him in. Eddie moved forward slowly, trying to seem as unthreatening as possible. But there was still a spike of fear that tinged the air as he sat on the couch.

Eddie waited, feeling the walls and floor vibrating in time with the now muffled music. He let the human look at him, let him take his fill, all while Eddie did the same. In spite of his paleness, the man looked healthy otherwise. His high cheekbones weren’t overly pronounced in his face and there weren’t any signs of malnutrition. He seemed clean, which meant that they at least took some level of care of these people. There were no bite marks to be seen so he must have been healed every time.

After taking notice of the rest of him, Eddie finally let himself meet the man’s eyes. They were bright even now, an endless sea of blue in the middle of such a dark place. Eddie felt a deep, longing ache to pull the pain and fear from his gaze. To make him forget that any of this ever happened. But no matter how traumatic the memory, Eddie had made a vow long ago never to commit such a violation. So instead he looked into those eyes and opened his mouth to speak, trying to think of what he could possibly say.

“Hello,” is what came out, soft and hesitant.

If it weren’t for the man’s confused blink, slow as it was, Eddie would have wondered if he heard it at all. He resisted the urge to reach out, not wanting to touch the man too soon. Heaven knows what treatment he’d been subject to. Eddie would be surprised if he’d lacked any sort of kind touch recently. So he kept his hands to himself.

“Do you know how long you’ve been here?” Eddie asked, his voice hushed to a bare whisper.

A moment passed. A beat of nothingness. Then the man shook his head slowly. Eddie took another breath and spoke again.

“Do you remember how you got here?”

A nod this time. Fear flitted through those blue eyes at whatever memory the words drummed up. In another room, Eddie’s sharpened hearing picked up on a muffled cry. His nails dug into his palms as he forced himself to focus on the man in front of him. This was how he helped. Right here and now. It was everything.

“Did you come here willingly?” Eddie asked.

There it was. The most important question of all. He might have spent more time gathering this man’s trust if it weren’t for the time limit he was under and the cry of pain he just heard. The man hesitated, his eyes darting towards the door and then back to Eddie.

A beat passed.

Then he shook his head.

And Eddie immediately reached for the phone in his pocket.

“What’s your status?” the impersonal voice on the other end questioned after exactly three rings.

“Positive,” Eddie answered, his eyes moving to the man before he spoke again. “Tear it down.”

The line cut off and Eddie pocketed his phone again before sitting there as still as possible, tense and waiting.

“Who are you?”

It was the first time the man spoke. His voice was raspy with disuse and the discomfort on his face showed how painful it was to speak after being silenced for so long. Eddie found himself reaching out before he could help it. All it took was the brush of his fingers over the back of the man’s hand. The warm shock that ran through from his fingertips all the way down to his toes told him everything that he needed to know, stealing the breath from Eddie’s lungs.

If he thought he was angry before, it was nothing compared to the white hot fury that roared to life, licking at his chest and making him want to rip everyone who had a hand in this limb from limb. Eddie pulled his hand away from the man’s, wishing more than anything that the slight jerk of surprise he saw from the human was nothing more than a figment of his imagination. But it wasn’t that easy. Eddie had to quickly come to terms with the truth as he fought the bloodthirsty rage that clawed through his mind.

“I’m here to help,” Eddie said in a slightly strangled voice, not wanting to scare the man now.

He heard a distant bang of a door being blown open followed by panicked and protesting shouts. It was almost over.

“We’re going to get you out of here,” Eddie promised, his eyes fixed on the curtain.

There was nothing but tense silence between them as Eddie flexed his hand, trying his best not to acknowledge what just happened. He never thought he’d feel that shock. Never wanted to experience it either. But now he had and there was no going back.

Eddie never should have touched him.

The couch shifted and a hand brushed lightly over the sleeve of Eddie’s jacket, jerking him out of his miserable thoughts. Eddie felt guilty when he saw the man flinch but it didn’t seem to faze him otherwise. He sat up a little more even though it clearly took a lot of effort.

“Richie,” the man said hoarsely, his eyes fixed on Eddie with hope in their depths. “My name is Richie.”

Eddie felt drawn to him. His very soul ached to reach out and touch. To hold. To possess. He pushed it all away and nodded at Richie, knowing he had to respond.

“Special Agent Edward Kaspbrak,” he said even as he scooted away from Richie, putting a distance between them before he gave into his overwhelming need. “You’re safe now, Richie.”

*****

_Things like me can’t be governed by the same laws and agencies that oversee humans. We have to keep one another in check. After the revelation, laws were put into place. Laws that were debated by humans and creatures alike. The more divisive, intolerant sects advocated for something like internment camps. That didn’t last long._

_The laws were established, designed to protect humans and non-humans. The issue of enforcement was discussed for months. Eventually a department branched off of the FBI, offering one of the first career opportunities designed specifically for non-humans._

_I signed up the day it went into effect._

*****

When Eddie was finally able to step outside after explaining to several different people exactly what happened for the sake of evidence, the street was still lit up by flashing lights. Several police cars and ambulances lined the sidewalks, and the victims of the trafficking ring were all being treated. Last Eddie heard, they counted eighteen of them. The news only served to feed his still brewing rage. He knew that it was the best decision for him to leave and let himself come to terms with everything far away from the scene.

But something, or rather _someone_ , kept him close as much as he hated to admit it.

Eddie barely had a second to breathe in the cool night air before another body collided with his. Slender arms wrapped around his neck as his closest friend held him in a tight embrace. He returned it with no hesitation, his eyes slipping closed as he let Beverly’s presence calm him ever so slightly. Then she was pulling away, emotions crossing her face as she took him in before sighing with relief, leaning in to hug him yet again. Eddie didn’t blame her. There was always a sense of fear in this job, that every case could be their last.

“I missed you,” Beverly murmured, pressing her forehead to his shoulder. “I hate this undercover bullshit when I’m on the other side of it.”

Eddie turned his face into her hair, breathing her in as he silently agreed with her words. They met when they both joined the department, committed to overseeing those who regular human law enforcement couldn’t touch. Neither of them liked it when the other had to go radio silent for however long it took to build their cover and complete the undercover assignment. In Eddie’s case, he’d been gone for over six months trying to create a convincing fake identity. Almost two hundred days of not seeing or talking to any of his friends in the bureau.

He pulled away from her as they heard a scuffle from behind them, watching as the captured employees were led out of the door one by one. Greta Bowie was last, a deep scowl etched on her beautiful face in spite of the suppressants that caused a haze to settle over her eyes. Two agents led her out with their hands clasping her upper arms. Her gaze fell on Eddie, clearing just a bit as her lip curled upwards, her eyes flashing dangerously while she struggled uselessly against the grip of those who escorted her.

“You have no idea what you’ve done,” she all but hissed at him, her heels clacking across the pavement as they walked her towards a car. “You’re fucking dead, you hear me?”

Eddie wasn’t usually one to take any last minute threats seriously. Criminals usually liked to have the last word and he’d been threatened more times than he could count. But he couldn’t keep a hold on himself, stepping away from Beverly as his body flooded with the same white hot anger from before.

“You’re lucky you made it out of there alive,” Eddie growled at her, a part of him thankful for Beverly’s restraining hand on his chest. “You deserve to be torn to pieces and you fucking know it.”

“Eddie!”

Beverly’s shocked voice cut through his fury and he relented, letting them drag Greta away amidst her spitting curses. He felt hands on his face pulling his attention away and Beverly’s face swam in his tinged vision, forcing him to focus on her.

“Are you trying to get suspended?” she demanded, her voice sharp.

Eddie relented at her words, taking a deep breath and releasing his hands from the fists they were balled into. Beverly dropped her hands as soon as she saw the surrender in his eyes.

“Put the fangs away, pokey,” she said, a glimmer of amusement in her eyes.

Eddie closed his eyes and willed himself to relax. As soon as he felt his teeth shift back to normal, he stepped away from her and rubbed his hands over his face with a groan.

“I’ve never seen you get that worked up,” Beverly said, her hand brushing over his elbow. “What happened in there?”

He didn’t look at her, his eyes seeking out the source of his conflict without his permission. There he was, in the back of one of the ambulances. His hair fell in his face in dark tangles and there was a blanket wrapped around his shoulders as an EMT checked him over. Eddie couldn’t bring himself to look away. There was a pull deep in his chest. A voice screaming at him to get closer. But he remained rooted to the spot, his eyes fixed on the man at the center of his turmoil.

“Eddie?” Beverly said, clearly noticing what he was staring at.

He inhaled slowly, forcing himself to look away.

“That man…” Eddie said, meeting Beverly’s eyes warily.

“Yeah?” she said, frowning a little.

He refused to look that way again. It was getting harder to keep himself away.

“We touched,” Eddie finally said, admitting the truth he’d known since they touched in that dark, horrible room. “And it happened.”

“Oh shit,” Beverly gasped, her hand lifting to cover her mouth.

He nodded, forcing himself to stay turned away. A few moments passed before Beverly reached out.

“Hey,” she said softly.

Eddie already knew what she was going to say.

“No,” he shook his head, turning his back against his instincts. “I won’t do it, Bev.”

“He’s your _soulmate_ ,” Beverly said, grasping at his arm.

“He’s a human,” Eddie said, meeting her eyes again.

A small line formed between her brows as her eyes darted over his face, trying to gauge how serious he was about it.

“You can’t just leave him,” she said quietly.

“He doesn’t know,” Eddie said, forcing himself not to look again. “Because of what they did to him-”

He cut off, shaking his head as fury rose in him again.

“He doesn’t know,” he repeated.

“He will,” Beverly said carefully yet with certainty in her voice.

Eddie knew that she was right. When the suppressants wore off and his mind was able to think clearly without anything dulling it, Richie would feel it. He would know.

“It doesn’t matter,” Eddie said, forcing his voice to remain level. “I won’t do it.”

With that, he turned away from the man that fate had tethered to him, telling himself that he was doing the right thing and hoping that he had the strength to stay away.

**Author's Note:**

> I would love to hear what you think!
> 
> talk to me on tumblr @ reddieforlove


End file.
